


Umbrellas and Coffee

by VisionaryGalaxy



Series: A Thousand Futures of Me and You [174]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Coffee Shops, Don't copy to another site, Drabble, M/M, Rain, Short & Sweet, Umbrellas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2019-07-06
Packaged: 2020-06-22 05:01:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19660351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VisionaryGalaxy/pseuds/VisionaryGalaxy
Summary: Tony sees Stephen in a coffee shop and falls in love. Like a cliché.





	Umbrellas and Coffee

The coffee shop was busier than usual for a Thursday morning. Tony had come to expect the small café to be nearly empty around nine-thirty as the poor nine to fivers rushed off to work to start yet another arduous and boring day. It was the exact reason why he planned to arrive at this time every day without fail.

That…and the other, less logical reason.

After about a week of finding this particular café to be the height of good coffee, Tony had begun to notice another patron. The man, whomever he was, came in five minutes after Tony without change, waited impatiently in line, ordered a dark roast coffee, handed exact change, and promptly turned on his heel to leave.

Tony would be lying if he said he wasn’t besotted the moment he saw the man. He was tall and lean in a way that wasn’t scrawny, obvious definition hiding beneath his thick jacket. His eyes were a startling mosaic of colour which he only knew after almost running into him the one day, earning him a tired glare that was entirely worth it. That wasn’t Tony’s favourite bit, no, it was the deep voice that reverberated through his bones every time he listened to the man give his order. It was almost embarrassing.

That never stopped him from grabbing a chair next to the large windows for ten minutes after his arrival just so he could stare. Happy didn’t like it and seemed to be growing increasingly annoyed these past few weeks as he struggled to find parking.

Today the busyness might be because it was pouring rain outside. While the usual coffee addicts kept to their typical routine, Tony spotted several new patrons getting various warm drinks to ward of the chill, damp air.

He predicted coffee guy would be more irritable then usual.

Four minutes and thirty seconds after Tony had willfully claimed his seat, that familiar lean form walked through the door with a quiet tinkle. It looked like he’d been right. The top of his coat was damp from the rain, hair glistening with drops that highlighted the grey streaks on the sides remarkably well. More importantly, however, he was scowling enough to make several patrons grimace and scurry out the door.

He stood in the line impatiently, foot tapping against the floor, jaw clenched at the snail’s pace. The frustration on his expression shouldn’t be as endearing as it was but Tony was helpless to it, finding himself blatantly staring.

The man finally stepped forward and recited his order quickly, hand already thrust out with the change. The intensity of his gaze was enough to make the cashier stutter in their words and fumble the money, which of course earned a glare and a huff.

Honestly, it was adorable.

He was waiting off to the side for his coffee to be ready when Tony’s attention was grabbed by the pounding against the window. A glance outside revealed a downpour strong enough to clear the streets of New York in a heartbeat. Usually rain like this lasted a max of five minutes but this seemed relentless.

Tony looked back at the man. He too was staring out the window and his expression was both angry and pathetically sad. That was all it took for an idea to spring into Tony’s head, one that he was confident would be successful.

He slipped his phone out of his pocket and sent a quick text to Happy.

Immediately after, Tony found himself tapping his foot anxiously against the tiled floors, watching from the corner of his eye and praying the barista would be bogged down with orders, or irritable, or exhausted or hung over, or anything that would make his coffee take longer then usual.

By some miracle, the man was still waiting at the counter, jaw clenched, with Happy bustled into the shop. Luckily, nobody paid him any attention as he made his way over to Tony and dropped the umbrella with a raised eyebrow. Tony just waved him away and he went with a sigh. Maybe Happy deserved a raise.

He slipped on his jacket just as the man swiped up his coffee.

Outside the rain began to pound ominously against the glass, shifting from gentle to torrential. The man stared at it with barely concealed resentment. Tony took his chance.

He stepped up next to the man, heart pounding in his chest and knees a little weak from nerves. Stormy eyes met his, browns coming together in confusion even as they raked over him appraisingly. Tony had to keep himself from smirking at the obvious approval.

“You work at the hospital, right?”

The man blinked and the interest turned to suspicion.

Tony grimaced, “sorry, I’ve seen you here before. You’ve worn scrubs on more then one occasion.”

The man relaxed and Tony felt his stomach flutter as he nodded slowly, “So, you’ve been watching me?”

Uh. How does one not sound like a stalker? “I’m just observant, perks of having a high IQ.”

For a long moment nothing was said. The man’s expression was impassive, taking him in and seemingly weighing just how creepy Tony might be. Then. He licked his lips. Tony could have died happily right there on the spot.

He put his hand out, “Stephen Strange. Neurosurgeon.”

Tony shook it unthinkingly, mind swirling with that information and already intending to have FRIDAY dig up everything she could on him once he got home. He was a neurosurgeon, which meant he was smart, probably a bit arrogant if his behaviour was any indication and looked like a fucking sex god. It was like he’d been hand-picked for Tony and of course, Tony wanted.

“Tony Stark.”

“I know.”

Of course, he did. And he wasn’t the least bit flustered. Good.

“Listen. The hospital is only what? Two blocks away? And I happen to have this very handy umbrella, so how about I walk you?”

The man’s lip twitched, sipped his coffee. He watched Tony over the rim, and he realized Stephen was laughing at him and just how obvious he was being. Tony didn’t mind, not if the man said yes.

“Alright.”

Tony blinked.

The man grabbed the umbrella from his unresisting hand, and it shook it open, striding for the door, forcing Tony to almost run in order to catch up. When he ducked under the umbrella it was to find Stephen smirking down at him, “I wouldn’t have taken Tony Stark for a cliché.”

Tony just smiled, reached up to wrap his hand around the handle of the umbrella, directly over Stephen’s, “it’s working isn’t it?”

“We’ll see.”

The challenge in his voice was unmistakable and Tony felt a thrill wash through him. There were few things he was better at then a challenge and he planned on showing Stephen exactly that.


End file.
